Before graduating last year from Poland Regional High School, Emma MacMahon saw Kirsten Johansen nearly every day for four years. When Johansen had a free block, MacMahon would go to her classroom to hang out.

“She would help me with anything I needed,” MacMahon said. “It was like having a school mom or cool older sister — someone who could always listen.”

Johansen, 36, a special education teacher, leads the school’s social emotional learning program but also has students like MacMahon each morning in homeroom, or “roundtable,” where they spend time on everything from applying for jobs to talking about emotional health.

To help students in the program that display disruptive behavior or lack strong support systems at home, she said trusting relationships are paramount. She earns that trust by genuinely caring for their well-being.

“The basis of any good teaching is the ability to bond,” she said. “What a lot of these students have lacked until they get in high school is feeling like they’re understood.”

That means teaching students basic communication and relationship-building skills in an era of Snapchat and TikTok. She said social media has undoubtedly affected students’ ability to communicate with each other and understand themselves.

Michael Lane, Johansen’s co-teacher in the program, said she “makes meaningful connections … throughout the building,” and that she constantly introduces him to new students who stop by their classroom to see her.

Johansen also consistently shows up to support students at sports games and other school events, often on weekends, commuting from her home in Windham.

Johansen initially wanted to be an English teacher but quickly realized she had an affinity and love for working with struggling learners. She was an ed tech in Westbrook for seven years, then received her special education certification. She’s retained her connection there and has coached the Westbrook High School swim team for 10 years. 

“It’s a lot, but I love it,” she said about teaching and coaching high schoolers. “I couldn’t imagine myself in any other setting.”

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